Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers says his team remains in "transition" after the sale of Luis Suarez to Barcelona.
The Reds have made a disappointing start to this season, with Saturday's 3-1 loss at West Ham the third defeat from their opening five Barclays Premier League games.
Rodgers feels the "transition" going on within the camp is one of several things to have contributed to that, but he is confident things will turn if his players keep working hard.
"There is a natural transition in the group, and where there is that transition, there are little bumps along the way," said Rodgers, whose side were not in Europe last term and finished second in the league.
"Mario is one of a number of players we brought in and for them all, no matter how good their quality, it is going to take a wee bit of time to gel with the players that were already here."
